The invention relates to rivet forming tools, historically used in the aerospace industry or other industries during the process of joining metal sheets together by compressing solid metal rivets or by pulling blind rivets.
Several different types of tools exist for forming the heads of rivets, in order to join sheet metal parts into an assembled unit. These include rivet guns/bucking bars, hand squeezers, hand blind riveters, pneumatic squeezers and pneumatic blind riveters. Of these types, pneumatic squeezers and pneumatic blind riveters produce the most consistently formed rivets with the least operator fatigue. Pneumatic rivet squeezers have been used for many years. There are two basic types; C-yoke and Alligator type squeezers. C-yoke types allow for different yokes to be used, dependent on the geometry of the parts to be fastened, while Alligator types allow the tool squeezer jaws to get into tighter areas.
The inventor of the present invention, while assembling an amateur built aircraft kit, discovered several limitations of present pneumatic squeezers. The inventor undertook designing a new riveter which would overcome these limitations. The invention disclosed represents a preferred embodiment of the basic configuration, but not all possible embodiments.